


Five Times the Avengers (and non-Avengers) Witness a Moment Between Bucky and Toni

by tejiisan234



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Developing Relationship, F/M, Female Tony Stark, Fluff, Getting Together, Mild Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-25
Updated: 2020-04-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:14:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23667445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tejiisan234/pseuds/tejiisan234
Summary: + the time when Bucky and Toni finally do something about it.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark
Comments: 14
Kudos: 388





	Five Times the Avengers (and non-Avengers) Witness a Moment Between Bucky and Toni

1.

Steve Rogers is a genius. That’s not being cocky, it’s just the truth. Sure, he’s no Stark, Banner or Strange, but he’s not Captain America for nothing. His mind has been enhanced to see things others might miss, to see the fissure cracks in a foundation and fill it as best as he can or assign the appropriate persons.

All this to say, Steve is observant and don’t let anyone else say otherwise. Especially Clint. He’s not like Natasha in his observations and he likes to play the “gee-golly” card to avoid suspicion. It stopped working on the Avengers a long time ago, but it still throws them off mainly by irritating them.

(Steve Rogers is also a little shit.)

Which brings Steve to his current dilemma: Bucky and Toni.

A month ago, after Steve finally pinpointed where Bucky was hiding and got ready to bring him in, he pulled Toni aside and told her what he knew about his best friend’s involvement in her parent’s death. It was a dirty move, Steve knows this, telling her like that right before he, Nat and Sam left and he apologized for it later, once Toni lifted lock down in her lab, that is. 

But that’s not the relevant point. The point is: a month ago there was no Bucky and Toni.

Toni avoided Bucky like the plague, and Bucky—ever the most perceptive sniper (and the Winter Soldier)—got the memo and made himself scarce whenever Toni was around.

Steve was naturally frustrated, and his therapist said it was okay that he was, but that he can’t do anything about it until Toni reconciles the fact that it wasn’t Bucky who killed her parents. So the past month has been an exercise in self-control and juggling his time with the Avengers, his friendship with Toni, and being there for Bucky when his brother needed him (e.g. after nightmares, therapy and psychiatric appointments being the most frequent occurrences).

So, Steve would like to know, how _this_ happened. How he didn’t _see_ this happen..

Toni has just walked into the kitchen a few minutes after Steve and Bucky got back from their morning run, and Steve immediately knows that their resident billionaire hadn’t gone to bed yet. He didn’t need to see her messy dark curls, her oil stained clothes, or the bags beneath her brown (most likely bleary) eyes.

No, he just had to look at the time and know.

Toni Stark would never be up this early of her own accord.

Steve was prepared to have Bucky slip away and join him later once Toni leaves. So, he’s appropriately shocked into silence when Bucky walks over to join Toni where the genius is uselessly pawing at the coffee machine and grumbling under her breath how FRIDAY is taking too much after JARVIS.

“I don’t think coffee’s a good idea right now, Stark,” Bucky says but starts fixing up a pot.

Toni grumbles again, but there’s no heat in her words, “Oh, fuck off, Barnes. I already have two mother hens. Don’t need you adding to the equation.”

Bucky chuckles. Actually _chuckles_ as he pressed the start button on the coffee maker. “Maybe if you start taking care of yourself, you’ll lessen those numbers.”

“Mmm, talk math to me,” Toni says and backs into fridge next to her, eyes falling shut. 

Steve’s brain feels like the Grand Central Station because suddenly, there’s too much going on and he can’t grasp a single line of thought, so really, it was all muscle memory when he returns Toni’s _hey, Steve_ with a small wave.

The silence that follows doesn’t feel uncomfortable, at least not to Steve, so his gaze keeps bouncing back and forth between Toni and Bucky watching for any signs of discomfort but only finds that Toni is _this close to falling asleep against the fridge_ and Bucky is content with pulling out Toni’s favorite mug and scooping in a few teaspoons of vanilla creamer into it until the coffee maker beeps.

Toni jerks, eyes snapping open only to drift down to half-mast and Bucky pours the coffee into the mug, stirs and sets it on the counter next to Toni.

Like a zombie, Toni reaches for the mug and brings it up to her nose to take a long whiff. Then she freezes and Steve snaps out of it. Now this is more familiar territory. This time, Bucky’s definitely going to leave. But after a second, Toni squints at Bucky and Bucky doesn’t run. 

Instead, he smirks.

 _Fucking_ smirks.

“Decaf, really?” Tony says drily.

Bucky shrugs. “I’ll make you something stronger after you get at least four hours of sleep.”

Toni squints even harder at him, holding her mug close to her chest. Then she says, “I hate that that’s an effective incentive. Fine. But it better be some damn good coffee, Barnes.”

With a grunt, Toni pushed herself off the fridge and doesn’t stumble, but almost, to the elevator. 

“Four hours!” Bucky calls after her.

He gets the middle finger over her shoulder.

Steve was still processing the whole thing which is how Bucky was able to grab a bottle of water, pat him on the shoulder, and head up to his room to shower without Steve stopping him. It isn’t until minutes later that Steve says to an empty kitchen, “What the fuck?”

2.

Natasha noticed the shift in Steve immediately.

The moment he walked into her kitchen where she had propped herself on the bar, bare legs swinging back and forth, and eating a bowl of cereal, she honed in on his mood.

“Something bothering you, soldier?” she asks before scooping a spoonful of cornflakes into her mouth.

Steve hums, frowning at the floor as he made a beeline for her fridge. She doesn’t push, taking another bite instead as she waits for Steve to work through his thoughts. When he’s like this, she knows it’s better to let him be. It gives her time to think of what might be going on and how she should respond.

Finally, he resurfaced from the fridge with milk lining his top lip. Natasha hides a smile behind another bite and follows Steve with her eyes as he moved around to her side and reached into the cupboard above her for a box of honey Cheerios. His favorite. Then he leanEd back against the bar top and shakes some of the cereal into his hand. He pops it into his mouth and Natasha purposefully takes another bite.

“Have you notice anything weird with Bucky and Toni?” he finally asks.

Natasha side-eyes him. “Bucky and Toni? Everything’s weird with those two. Why?”

“I don’t know, I’m still trying to figure out if what I saw earlier was a hallucination.”

“Earlier?” Natasha perks up. “What happened?”

“You really haven’t noticed anything?”

She shakes her head. “No. I haven’t even seen them be in the same room. What happened?”

“Well they were in the same room for once, without either of them making a run for it,” Steve says. “But that’s not the kicker.”

Natasha nods. 

“The kicker is they talked. _Talked._ And no one died! Then, then! Bucky makes Toni coffee, decaf, and bribes her into getting some sleep with actual caffeine. What’s next? A- A-...I can’t even think of anything right now.”

Natasha filed that all away as she sets her cereal bowl aside and tugs at Steve’s arm. He puts down the cereal box and allowed her to guide him into the V of her legs and settles his hands on her thighs. She watched as her state of undress finally dawns on him. The blue of his eyes becomes a thin ring as he eyed the hem of his gray hoodie that covered her upper thighs and slips his hands under it to find nothing else but more bare skin.

“Christ, Nat,” he groans when she feels him reach her ass and dropped his forehead to the crook of her neck.

“How about I distract you for a few hours?” she says, threading her fingers through the hairs at the back of his head. “Huh, Captain?”

Natasha puts the whole conversation on the back burner as Steve carries her back to her bedroom, deciding that she can’t make any judgment until she sees Bucky and Toni interact first. 

This doesn’t happen until almost two weeks later after Bucky has been cleared for combat (not active though) and Steve calls for a team training.

Natasha arrived at the gym the same time as Steve and she helps him set up with the ring, punching bags, safety nets, and filling up the water bottles. Gradually, everyone starts trickling in, but there was no sign of Toni or Bucky. She was just returning from the locker room in the back with a stack of towels when they finally arrive.

Together.

Natasha can see why Steve was so rattled.

Not only did they walk in together, but they were talking quite intently about something on Toni’s Stark Pad, oblivious to the fact that everyone was gaping at them. Natasha thought she’d have to “accidentally” knock into them so they’d snap out of it, but they’re quick to recover. Sam continued talking with Rhodey, and Clint finished taping up his knuckles next to where Steve was already pounding at a punching bag.

She keeps an eye on the unlikely duo as she sets the towels down, half of her mind working out how this training might go while they’re missing some members and the other half is completely occupied with reading every bit of Bucky and Toni’s body language.

There’s still an awkwardness between them, especially obvious in the way they kept at least five inches apart despite sharing a device. When Bucky reaches over to point at something on the screen, Toni would shift so they wouldn’t touch, and when Toni shows Bucky something, he’d take the tablet instead of leaning into Toni’s space to see. It would’ve been comedic if it wasn’t for the fact that they were obviously trying. Trying to be at ease in each other’s presence, to not trip up the other, or accidentally make someone uncomfortable.

The road to recovery is never easy.

She turns her gaze to the rest of the Avengers and catches Rhodey’s eye. He immediately raised both hands up, already aware of her thoughts, and shakes his head. Toni hadn’t told him anything. Okay then.

Natasha will have to keep watch of any further developments, because no matter where this relationship might go, it’ll impact the team and she’d like to be prepared for that.

3.

So here’s the thing: Bruce is nowhere near Earth, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t keep in contact with Toni or the rest of his teammates.

After Sokovia, Bruce felt even more of an alien than he ever had, so when Thor mentioned traversing across the Nine Realms to look for the rest of the Infinity Stones, Bruce made up his mind. He had a whole speech ready as to why Thor should let him come, but he didn’t get to say it as Thor readily agreed right after he asked. There was an understanding in the god’s eyes and Bruce was thankful Thor didn’t say anything else.

In a blink of an eye, he was off Earth and following Thor through the universe.

Of course, that’s not to say the departure was easy. He got a little choked up, especially after Natasha apologized and Toni hugged him with a fierceness that rivaled Thor’s. Then she slipped a small disk into his pocket. He wasn’t able to ask what it was as Thor had stepped up and told him to get ready. Toni mimed holding a phone up to her ear and mouthed, _call me_ and Bruce laughed until the Bifrost took them.

So keeping in contact with the Avengers and Toni, that’s a thing he does whenever he has the time these days.

Docked on Knowhere and taking a much needed break after meeting with the Collector to check up on the Reality Stone, Bruce has parked himself in the kitchenette of the small room Thor had found for them, a mug of something resembling tea in his hands and the small disk sitting on the table. Bruce presses down on its center and a hologram pops up in arc reactor blue with the words, _Welcome, Dr. Banner._ It never fails to make Bruce smile.

Then the words shifted to read, _Calling..._ and Bruce waits patiently. He has no way of knowing what time it is back on Earth, so half of him is expecting someone to answer while the other half isn’t.

Not two seconds later, the words shimmered away before the hologram shifts to show one Toni Stark from her torso up. She’s grinning and twirling a wrench in one hand as she says, “Heya, Brucie-Bear! From whence is your magnificent ass calling me?”

Bruce doesn’t sputter, opting instead to take a sip of his drink. It gives him time to think about who actually sputtered in the background as Toni tossed a smirk over her shoulder to an unseen audience. “Is this a bad time?”

Toni turns back to him, smiling. “Nah, we’re just messing around down here. So where are you this time?”

Not Rhodey, since he’s used to Toni’s antics. It’d take more than Toni talking about his ass to get a reaction out of the Colonel.

“Knowhere.”

“Oh, ha-ha, you’re funny. Really, Jolly Green.”

Can’t be Steve. He’d be saying something by now, no doubt an exasperated _Toni._

“Really, Toni, I’m on Knowhere.”

Toni blinks. Then she leans forward. “Wait, are you actually telling me you’re on a planet called Knowhere?”

Clint isn’t even an option. There’d be chaos the moment Toni answered his call.

Bruce gives her a serene smile. “Sure, a planet. Let’s call it that.”

“You’re killing me, sugar buns!” Toni groans, flopping dramatically to the side as she whined, “You can’t say that and expect me to be satisfied.”

If it was Natasha she’d chime in by now.

“Don’t worry, Toni. I’ve had no expectations for you since day one.”

Toni’s mouth dropped open as a masculine guffaw filled the silence on her end. Huh, that’s not someone he knows. Did Toni make a new friend? She scowled over her shoulder, and if Bruce is correct, towards the overstuffed couch she has in the corner of her workshop that she’s kept from her MIT days. It’s a hideous shade of yellow, but it’s surprisingly comfortable. A piece of normal in a workshop where the impossible happens.

So it’s someone who Toni’s comfortable enough to invite down into her holy sanctum _and_ allow a spot on the MIT couch. That’s technically all the Avengers, maybe Pepper or Happy–

“Oh, sure, laugh it all up, Barnes. Let’s see if you’ll enjoy a sentient arm for your next upgrade.”

_What?_

Bruce fights hard to keep a straight face, taking another sip of his drink. _Barnes as in Bucky Barnes? James Buchanan Barnes? The Winter Soldier? The one Toni has called him up in tears over because “I know he didn’t do it, but god, I can’t even look at his face without seeing red!” That Barnes?_

“Come now, Toni,” a Brooklyn drawl says, “let’s not make any rash decisions, yeah? How will I be able to make you coffee if I have a sentient arm?”

Yep, that Barnes.

Bruce drinks the last bit of his not-tea.

Toni scowled harder. “I hate you,” she says with no real heat and snaps back to face Bruce. “Come home soon, Jolly Green, I’m surrounded by idiots who are hell-bent on making me live a healthy life. I miss our science binges.”

Bruce smiles. “I do, too, Toni.”

From there, they got lost in discussions of Toni’s latest inventions, things that Bruce has seen and bought, the latest villain shenanigans the Avengers have had to face, before Thor makes his appearance, coming back from wherever he’d gone to. As soon as he sees Toni, he grins.

“Antonia!” he greets brightly, stepping up behind Bruce’s chair. “How are you, my dear lady?”

Toni grins back. “Hey there, big guy! I’m doing well, thank you for asking. Are you taking care of my soulmate?”

“I am. Trust no words the good doctor might say in contrast.”

Toni laughs, loud and full only in the way Thor can influence her to do. From the get-go, Thor and Toni got along really well, and the only time there was any real hostility between the two had been during the whole Ultron fiasco. But Bruce knows they both had apologized and healed from it, strengthening their bond even more.

“Whatever you say, Thor. Ooh, do you think you could–”

Toni doesn’t see him, but Bruce and Thor do, as pixel by pixel Bucky Barnes comes into view next to Toni and settles a hand on her shoulder. Toni doesn’t jump at all at the contact. Instead, she simply pauses and turns to look up at him with questioning eyes.

Barnes smiles at them. “I’m sorry fellas, but it’s getting late here and I have a bet going on with Rhodes that I could get Toni to maintain a normal sleeping schedule for an entire month, so I gotta put this one to bed.”

Toni was fast to object. “Nooooo, you can’t make me abandon my science bro, _Bucky_!”

“I’m not making you abandon anyone, Toni,” Barnes says on a chuckle, “but I’m sure the doc will agree with me on this.”

“I do.” Bruce nods, though eighty percent of his brain is still processing what he’s seeing.

Toni gasps.

Thor says, “As do I.”

“Et tu, Brute?” Tony cries, pouting.

“Go and put her to sleep, Mr. Barnes. I’ll call again,” Bruce says.

Barnes smiles at him gratefully. “Call me Bucky. You heard the doc, Toni, let’s go.”

“I love you, Bruce! Call me! Take care, Thor! I miss you guys, visit soon!”

And with that, the hologram blinks out and the disk powers down.

Bruce asks, “Did you see what I saw?”

Thor hums. “I did.”

“What do you think?”

“I think that our lady Antonia has quite a prosperous road ahead of her.” Thor shoots him a grin. “What do you say to visiting Earth soon?”

4.

Sam has a theory, and it goes a little something like this: The Avengers are hazing him.

Why else would they “unanimously” agree to make him Wanda and Vision’s glorified babysitter every time they come around to visit? 

It’s nothing against Wanda and Vision, really, it’s just that...there’s this weird thing going on between them now that wasn’t there before when Dr. Strange whisked them away to Kamar Taj for proper training, and it’s so painfully awkward!

Still, Sam pushes forward, even though he doesn’t get paid enough for this.

“Oh, this is new,” Wanda says as they pass by the viewing platform to the training room. 

It wasn’t, but Toni had since upgraded it from the last time Wanda and Vision had seen it. It’s bigger now, more spacious and completely hi-tech. With a push of a holographic button, the whole room can be transformed into any kind of battlefield they want, thanks to Stark’s new virtual reality tech.

“There’s been a few changes since you’ve last been here,” Sam tells them, ignoring the way Vision gently takes Wanda’s hand. “Cap said he wants a team training tomorrow, since Strange has given you both the all-clear for mock combat.”

Wanda groaned as they continue to walk. “Do we have to? I’ve been doing nothing _but_ train in Kamar Taj.”

“We could go out for ice cream afterwards if that’ll make you feel better,” Steve says, coming out of nowhere to join them.

Sam doesn’t jump. He _doesn’t_.

Wanda hugs the blond while Vision shakes his hand. Damn enhanced people.

“How about we just skip training and jump straight to ice cream?” Wanda counters.

“Tempting,” Steve says, “but I’m afraid I can’t budge on the training part.”

Wanda sighs before shrugging. “Worth the shot, I suppose.”

Laughing, Steve wraps an arm around the girl’s shoulders and keeps it there until they arrive on the common floor. Sam hangs back with Vision on the way there, catching up with him, so he almost runs smack into Steve’s back when Wanda suddenly comes to a complete halt in the entrance to the common floor.

Sam immediately understands why.

Over her shoulder, he spots Toni and Bucky on the loveseat, reading over some papers and surrounded by what appeared to be some very legal documents, twisted together like a pretzel. Okay, maybe not a pretzel, but Toni has her legs curled around Barnes’ lap and Barnes’ was using her knees as a pedestal for his papers.

It’s still weird to watch.

Steve takes it a little better than he did last week when Barnes immediately pulled Toni to his side after Steve told them to pair up for training. Steve had choked on air and Sam got to laugh his ass off.

Nat comes in from the kitchen then holding a tray with three mugs, one for her and the other two presumably for Toni and Barnes.

“Hey, Wanda, Viz,” she says and sets down the tray on the coffee table.

That seemed to snap Wanda out of it and accepts Nat’s hug while the spy asks, “Do you want anything to drink? There’s still some coffee.”

“Oh, yes, please. Thank you.”

Nat smiles and pats Vision on the arm before she walks back to the kitchen. Steve had walked over to Toni and Barnes, taking up the corner of the couch nearest their loveseat and picks up a stack of papers next to the tray. “How’s it going?” he asks.

Barnes grunted while Toni says, “It’s messy work, that’s for sure.”

Sam goes over to Steve to look over his shoulder at the papers while Wanda and Vision take up the other loveseat opposite Toni and Barnes.

“This the Accords you talked about last week?” Sam asks Toni.

Toni nods and pulls out a pen she had tucked behind her ear before writing something on the paper in her hand. “There’s so much shit in this it belongs in the sewers, but I want to read it for myself before sending it off to SI’s lawyers so I know what we’re dealing with.”

“It’s honestly laughable if I didn’t know how serious the UN is about this,” Nat says as she joins them once more, and hands Wanda her own mug of coffee before tapping Steve’s leg.

Steve moves away from his spot, which was apparently Nat’s as the redhead lowers herself unto the cushion, one leg folded beneath her and Steve settles his arm across the backrest so he was effectively in Nat’s bubble.

Sam narrows his eyes at the muscled arm, then at Barnes and Toni before swinging over to Wanda and Vision who sat with their legs touching.

Is he seriously the only one single in this room at this moment?

“Accords?” Wanda asks, drawing Sam back from his saltiness.

“Oh yeah, we didn’t tell you about it yet,” Toni says, finally looking up. She immediately squints before closing her eyes and rubbing at the bridge of her nose.

Barnes quickly abandoned his own papers and settles a hand on Toni’s shoulder, a worried frown tugging at his mouth. Then he slips it around to cup the back of Toni’s neck and Toni _melts._

Sam looks away, not quite sure why he’s feeling embarrassed for witnessing such a simple act. But he looks around at the other and is relieved to find that he’s obviously not the only one who felt weird as Nat had turned to Steve and was whispering something to him and Wanda was gaping at the two from behind her mug while Vision tilts his head to the side, face stoic as usual.

“Guys, think you can handle briefing Wanda and Viz about this?” Barnes asks, ignoring Toni’s weak protests as he scoops the woman up in his arms.

Now that Sam was looking real close, the fatigue was quite noticeable on Toni’s face.

Nat waves him off. “Yeah, go ahead. I’ll have FRIDAY take notes of anything else we’ll find.”

“Thanks.” Barnes nods and turns on his heel towards the elevators. Toni weakly waves at them over his shoulder before her arms settled around Barnes’ neck.

The quiet left in their exit only last until the elevator doors closed, as Wanda immediate asked, “When did that happen?”

“Technically, it hasn’t,” Nat says with a shrug.

“What? They’re not dating?” Wanda sends the elevator doors an insulted look.

Nat smirks. “Yet.”

“There’s a betting pool when they’ll finally get together,” Steve chimes in then, smiling. “Want in?”

“Hell, yes,” Wanda says.

“I will join, too” Vision says.

Sam shakes his head. The Avengers are just a bunch of gossips and scheming aunts disguised as superheroes, never mind that he is also a part of the betting pool. He is so not getting pair enough for this.

5.

Pepper Potts has known Toni Stark for longer than she ever thought she would when she first started working for SI. This also means she knows Toni Stark very well. Too well, even, some might say. So, it takes a lot to shock Pepper these days when it comes to Toni.

She should’ve known the genius would find ways to do exactly just that.

A week ago, Toni Stark threw an extravagant birthday party for herself, inviting all the bigwigs on the board and every SI worker for a night of food, drinks and dancing. It was a wonder the whole thing went off without a hitch.

Tonight, however, Toni celebrates her actual birthday with her friends and family, and Pepper was more than happy to attend this one.

A day after the big party last week, a picture of Pepper handing Toni an expensive bottle of wine had been plastered across every front page of every rag magazine in the nation. Two days after that, Pepper spots an absurdly large mug in the shape of Darth Vader’s head at the flee market and instantly purchased it before going home to wrap it up in a nice box. Toni Stark, genius, billionaire, playgirl, philanthropist is hard to shop for. Toni, grease monkey, coffee addict, human disaster, Iron Woman, isn’t.

Pepper holds the box in her hands as she rides the elevator up to Toni’s floor in the Avengers’ Compound, thirty minutes before the party starts.

Then the elevator comes to a stop on one of the residential floors and Pepper watches expectantly is the doors slid open, curious to see who her companion might be. One Sargent James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes was the last person on her mind, but alas, there he stands looking just as shocked to see Pepper as Pepper is to see him.

The elevator doors ding and the Sargent moves quickly to step in, nodding to her, “Miss Potts.”

“Sargent Barnes.” Pepper smiles, hoping to ease the man’s obvious nerves. Maybe a few months ago she would’ve been simply polite with the former Winter Soldier but Toni has told her the last time they got on the topic of the Avengers that they had worked out their issues with each other, so Pepper can afford to be friendly with the guy.

He shifts a bit so he could return the smile and a flash of glossy red catches Pepper’s gaze. In his metal hand, a sparkly red gift bag dangled from his fingers on golden ribbons. She puts two and two together. “Are you seeing the birthday girl before her birthday party as well?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he nods, almost shyly and Pepper could swear that the tips of his ears were as red as the bag. It’s kind of hard to tell through the tendrils of his dark hair that has escaped the low bun he had pulled his hair into. “Don’t really feel like having everyone watch Toni open my gift.”

 _Toni, hmmm._ “My, my, Sarge, what scandalous thing did you get for our Toni?”

The man let’s out a short laugh, looking surprised at his own reaction before saying, “Nothing X-rated, I’m afraid. Just...stupid.”

 _Curiouser and curiouser._ “Well, welcome to the club, Sargent.”

“Bucky, please,” Bucky says just as the elevator finally reached Toni’s floor and the doors slide open.

Bucky motions for her to go first and Pepper thanks him as she steps into the living room. There were no signs of Toni, but Pepper knows she’s probably in her room as she had confirmed with FRIDAY that the genius is on her floor.

As if on cue, Toni comes out of her bedroom, dressed in a pair of high waisted jeans into which she had tucked the hem of a cream colored, cable-knit sweater with sleeves that puffed out at the hands, the complete opposite of the emerald green, form-fitting, with a plunging neckline dress she had worn last week.

“Pepper Pott, Robocop!” she says, smiling widely as she waves at them with a pair of blood red stilettos that she held by the tips of her fingers. “Here to see little ol’ me?”

Pepper rolls her eyes fondly at the other woman before bringing her in for a hug and a kiss of the cheek. “Happy birth day, Toni.”

Toni grins as she takes the box from Pepper’s hands. “Should I shake it?”

“You will never guess what it is.”

Toni threw her head back and laughs, tucking the box under her arm. It was an easy contrast to the too-wide smile she had shot the cameras when Pepper handed her the wine last week. “Consider my interest piqued. What about you, Frosty? Here to have me guess what you got me as well?”

“No, actually,” Bucky says as he steps forward and accepts Toni’s hug with a smile. He gives her the present. “If you could open it now, I’d appreciate it greatly.”

The smile Toni gives him is so soft Pepper has to blink to make sure she was seeing this right. It was too quickly replaced with a gleeful look as she pulls out the contents of the bag, laughing almost maniacally as she stares at the palm-sized version of Howard Stark’s first attempt at a flying car.

“Oh my god, oh my god,” Toni chants and watched intently as Bucky explains the mechanics and touched the bumper of the small model. It begins to float about an inch off Toni’s hand on its’ little wheels.

Pepper can see Toni barely containing herself from bouncing, eyes bright with excitement. “When did you make this?”

Bucky shrugs. “Doesn’t matter. I’m just glad I finished it in time.”

“This is quite possibly the coolest thing anyone has ever made for me, Buckaroo.” Toni taps the bumper and the car gently settles back in her palm. She beams up at the man. “Thank you.”

Pepper starts to slowly slip away from the two, mind whirling with thoughts of what she had just witnessed. She needs to talk to Nat, May and Happy. She needs to know how long this has been going on and why no one had told her.

She had backed towards the elevator when Toni settles a hand on Bucky’s shoulder before pushing up on her toes to kiss the man on the cheek. Bucky takes it with a besotted smile and Pepper resists the urge to yell, _Just kiss already!_ She steps back into the elevator instead, and the last thing she sees before the doors close is Bucky getting to his knees to help Toni slip her heels on.

Yeah, a girl’s night out is in order very soon.

+1.

“Everything good back there, boss?”

Happy’s soft inquiry brings Toni out of her sluggish thoughts. She looked away from the window she had been staring through blindly for the past...she checks her watch, thirty minutes, and meets Happy’s eyes through the rear view mirror. “Yeah, just exhausted.”

Happy nods and Toni slumps further in the car’s plush seat. It’s been a whole week since she’s been on American soil, a whole week of rubbing elbows, greasing hands, and talking up business owners at the Tech Expo in Japan, and she’s so ready to crash.

She’s ready to be among friends and family again. She wants to let Nat paint her nails while she designs new upgrades, she wants to curl up in the library with Steve and a mug of the Captain’s famous hot chocolate listening to the man sketch as she flips through a sci-fi book, she wants to get tipsy with her Rhodey and science things up in her workshop, she wants to run with and gripe at Sam on the mornings she’d join him in working out, and she wants to go down to the shooting range with Clint to test out the new ways she can make his arrows go boom.

But most importantly, she wants to snuggle with Bucky on her couch while Star Trek plays in the background, completely forgotten as they talk about everything and nothing.

God, the Avengers have made her a needy woman.

No, that’s not quite right. She’s always been needy. The Avengers just became one big enabler.

She’s not complaining.

The sight of the Compound gates had Toni’s shoulders finally relaxing and when she tries to help Happy with her luggage, he shooed her away and Toni didn’t even pretend to put up a fight.

Bucky was already on her floor and holding his arms open to receive her as she stumbled out of the elevator. 

“Hey, doll,” he says in that deep drawl that she loves so much.

“Mplreugh,” she mumbles against his pillowy chest that tumbled with a chuckle.

“Okay, bed it is.” It’s ridiculously hot how easily he picked her up and Toni tries to tell him but she can only hum. She feels him press a kiss to the crown of her head. “I know. Tell me more after a nap, yeah?”

“M’kay.”

In a slow blink, her head’s suddenly settling on a pillow on her bed. She mumbled some more as she hears Bucky shuffle around. Her jacket comes off and then her heels before the blankets are laid just below her chin.

She catches Bucky’s wrist in her hand. He pats it and says, “Give me a sec, hon.”

Toni pouts and behind her eyelids she’s giving him her puppy dog eyes but reluctantly lets him go. Sure enough, a second later (or maybe more than that because Toni is slowly slipping) Bucky slides under the covers behind her, his metal arm curling around her waist before he pulled her into his chest. Toni sighs in contentment.

“God, I love you.”

“Yeah?”

“Mmhmm. We should make it official so I can say you’re my boyfriend when I talk about you to everyone.”

Bucky’s chuckle washes over her like the warm afternoon sun. “Everyone, huh?”

Toni nods as much as she can before turning around so she could press her nose into his neck. “Yeah. Wanna tell everyone.”

“Okay, but only as long as I can do the same about you, deal?”

Toni smiled and manages to nip at his throat. Bucky hisses as she says, “Deal. We should definitely do sexy times later when I wake up.”

Large, capable hands slide down her back to her ass and _squeezed._ “Anything you want, Toni.”

Toni likes the sound of that.


End file.
